by Sr. Liana de Jesus, MMM                                 Brazil/ USA                                              02.09.2026

Sometimes the most meaningful lessons rise from the simplest discoveries.

I wasn’t searching for anything special when I wandered along the beach, enjoying the warm sand beneath my feet. Then I noticed an old, hollow log resting in the sand. Weathered by years of sun and salt, it seemed empty and forgotten.

But beside it sat a small orange brick, and behind it stood a young pine tree, green and alive. To most people, it was just driftwood. To my inner child, it was a doorway.

What if that hollow log wasn’t empty? What if it was the home of a rabbit, the front step marked by that brick, the pine tree in a forest guarding everything inside? Maybe a pirate treasure was buried beneath, or a secret grotto shaped by the sea.

Adults stop seeing possibilities. We see a log, not the stories it could hold.

That day, I closed my eyes and let my imagination pull me into the woods. I heard branches snap under my feet as I ran from a bear. And then, in the middle of the trees, I found safety in a hollow log—the very same one. It became a place of refuge and hope.

It reminded me that even when we feel hollow or disconnected from our roots, we can still provide shelter for someone else.
I wanted to bring that log home, but I left it there, hoping the next child or weary soul might see it differently.

As adults, we often lose the wonders we once had. That day reminded me to look beyond appearances, to rediscover my imagination, and ask the important question:

hat is the hollow place in my life, and how can I transform it into something filled with hope?